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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. M. WATKINS.

FERTILIZER ATTACHMENT FOR GRAIN DRILLS.

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(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2..

L. M. WATKINS. FERTILIZER ATTACHMENT FOB. GRAIN DRILLS.

Patented Sept. 25, 1883.

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UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER M. WATKINS, or HAGERSTOWN, MD., ASSIGNOR TO THE HAGERS- Town.STEAM ENGINE AND MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FERTILIZER ATTACHMENT FOR GRAIN-DRILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,711, datedSeptember 25, 1883.

Application filed March 8,1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER M. WATKINS, of Hagerstown, in the county ofWashington" and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fertilizer Attachments for Grain-Drills and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofthe cut-off slideand its fingers. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one ofthe fingers. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the slide in its groove in thehopper-bottom. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a hopper provided with theimproved slide. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the same, takenon the line a: a0, Fig.4.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote the sameparts.

My invention relates to improvements in the fertilizer-distributingmechanism of grain drills, and has particular reference to an improvedconstruction of cut-off for controlling the discharge of the fertilizingmaterial from the hopper, as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A represents the hopper of agrain-drill, and O and D the fertilizer and grain compartments thereof,respectively. Resting upon and fastened to the top of the woodenbottoinE in the fertilizer compartment of the hopper, at one sidethereof, is a metal plate, '0, having a number of lateral extensions, ww, which project out and partially cover the several dised to the underside of the wooden bottom and projecting to the rearof the hopper, asshown. When the handle is moved in one direction, it will carry with itthe sliding plate y, and the edges of the lateral extensions z ofthelatter will be brought up against the corresponding edges of theextensions w of the stationary plate '1), thus completely covering thedischarge-openings a and preventing the egress of any fertilizingmaterial from the hopper'compartment. When, however, the handle is movedin the opposite direction, the lat eral extensions of the sliding plate3 will recede from the extensions of the stationary plate 1), and willcreate openings of reverse-curve form, widest at the middle and taperingor converging down to a point at each end, as shown in Fig. 4.. Over theslots or openings thus formed by the separation of the lateralextensions of the plates 12 y the vibrating stirrers F operate, and asthey vibrate sweep the material from the ends toward the middle or widerportion of said slots, thus keeping the latter at all times clear andpreventing the material from lodging in their ends or corners,

as it might otherwise do.

The sliding plate it will be observed, constitutes a cut-off, which maybe operated by hand to prevent egress of material from thefertilizing-compartment of the hopper while the machine is beingtransported to or from the field or from field to field. essential inthis class of machines that means be provided for automatically cuttingoff the delivery of fertilizer when from any cause it becomes necessaryto raise the drill-teeth out of the ground, and it is in the peculiarconstruction of one of such automatic cutoffs that my present inventionconsists.

By referring again to the drawings it will be seen that in the uppersurface of the wooden hopper-bottom, below the metal plate 0 and closeto the openings a, I provide alongitudinal groove, in which I place alongitudinal cut-off bar, X, having lateral obliquely-proj ecting fin-'0 opposite direction, extend under and cover the 5 reverse-curve spacesor slots under the stirrers. The wooden hopper-bottom around theopenings to is beveled down to said openings, in order to afford aclearance for any of the fertilizing material that might by chance becarried in under the plates 1; and g by the fingers of the cut-off. Eachof the cut-off fingers It is, however, I

W is made of a width just sufficient to cover its discharge slot oropening and no more, in order that it may only be necessary to cut awayor bevel the wooden bottom around the openings u for a very shortdistance, to accommodate the fingers when retracted. Were a broader ordifierently-shaped finger employed, the hopper-bottom would have to becut away to a greater extent, and the liability of the fertilizingmaterial being carried in back of the furgers and becoming there lodgedwould be very much increased. The fingers may be formed integral withthe bar, though I preferably form them separate from the bar, with lugsZ Z, as shown in Fig. 2, on one of their faces, and connect them to thebar by means of rivets or otherwise, the lugs Z Z resting against theedge of the bar and serving to hold the fingers in position, as shown inFig. 2. A stud, V, is sc cured to the cut-off bar, and extends downwardtherefrom through a slot in the wooden bottom of the hopper, and hasattached to it a rod connected to suitable operating mechanism (notshown) set in motion by the raising and lowering of the drill-teeth,such mechanism causing the slide to automatically close thedischarge-openings when the drills are raised and to automatically openthem again when the drills are lowered.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- Y 1. Thecombination, with the hopper having the series of discharge-openings inits bot tom, of the stationary and sliding plates, constructed,substantially as described, with corresponding lateral extensions,which, when separated, constitute discharge-slots, as set forth, of thelongitudinally-sliding cutoff bar having the lateral oblique cut-offfingers,which are adapted, when the bar is moved in one direction, tocover the discharge-slot formed by the aforesaid stationary and slidingplates, and thus constitute a means of preventing the dis charge offertilizer from the hopper independ- LUTHER M. WATKINS,

\Vitnesses:

STEWART HAMMAKER, WM. S. WILLIAMSON.

